Many of its nearly 600 students are considered at-risk. It’s on the north side, a part of town that has historically struggled with crime and economic decline. And middle schools, by nature, are a tough crowd. There's a lot of growth and change in a relatively short amount of time, and there are pains along the way.

Yet for the second straight year, Paul Breaux is an “A” school, as defined by the Louisiana Department of Education. Its 2016 performance score was a 102.6, third-best among Lafayette Parish’s middle schools.

Many Paul Breaux students have test scores that are better than state averages. In last year’s LEAP tests, 62 percent of the school’s seventh graders and eighth graders received advanced or mastery scores in English.

In addition, 54 percent of seventh graders had advanced or mastery scores in science, and 48 percent of eighth graders had advanced or mastery math scores.

There are other accomplishments, too. Its quiz bowl and speech teams routinely compete – and win – against high schools. Many students have placed at the annual Literary Rally at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. It has a successful robotics club.

“What Paul Breaux does is it prepares kids for high school and beyond a lot sooner,” said Karen Gutsmeidl, now in her 26th year teaching English, journalism and speech at the school. “When they get to high school, they are able to take (Advanced Placement) classes because they have high school credits at the middle school level.

“I think we’re sort of one of Lafayette Parish’s best-kept secrets because a lot of people don’t understand there is so much potential here,” Gutsmeidl continued. “We have a lot of students who are leadership material. I think they will become leaders in Acadiana and the rest of the country.”

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Principal Stephen Judice talks to a staff member at Paul Breaux Middle School in Lafayette Tuesday, March 21, 2017. (Photo: LEE CELANO/THE ADVERTISER)

Collaboration, teamwork part of school culture

If there is one key to Paul Breaux’s success, it might be a spirit of unity.

“It’s very much a team effort,” said Principal Stephen Judice. “There is not one principal who can grow a school on their own. If you have a rapport with your faculty and your staff, if we can take constructive criticism as long as we all have the best interests of students in mind, then we can do really good things.”

Judice is the first to point out that Paul Breaux isn’t a typical middle school. It has French and Spanish language immersion pathways, a program for gifted students and its regular education track for students zoned for the school.

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Students water plants during an environmental sciences class at Paul Breaux Middle School in Lafayette Tuesday, March 21, 2017. (Photo: LEE CELANO/THE ADVERTISER)

“The reason I actually applied for this job is because of the diversity that it offers,” said Judice, now in his second year as principal. “You have all walks of life over here, and that makes it a very interesting environment.”

Science teacher Paul Conover said that unique combination benefits both students and staff.

“It’s great because none of them are too sheltered,” Conover said. “They all mix together. Everybody gets a good look at the different curricula and different learning styles. All the kids know each other and they get along really well.”

For Paul Breaux administrators and teachers, the key is to support each of those talents and interests, to reach all students. Toward that end, this year Judice implemented an extra planning period each day for teachers.

During that time, teachers from core subjects – math, English, science and social studies – gather to talk about teaching methods, struggling students and ways they all can improve.

“It’s been huge,” Gutsmeidl said. “Prior to this year, we didn’t have that ability to collaborate. It made it difficult to implement anything across the department. This way, you don’t feel like you’re on an island.”

Judice and his team have taken extra steps to make sure students feel that same sense of collaboration. This year, they’ve met with each student on an individual basis to discuss test scores and more.

“We talked about their progress, or lack thereof, on testing, attendance, discipline data and everything else,” Judice said. “We told some of them they could do a lot better. We held them a little more accountable. That actually gave us an opportunity to get to know some kids we don’t see as often.”

"It's just an amazing feeling"

Lafayette Parish School Board member Tehmi Chassion has lifelong ties to Paul Breaux. His mother graduated from there when it was a high school. You can see the campus from her house. Chassion went there, then his daughter. His son will when he is old enough.

“It’s just an amazing feeling to know that we in District 4 have such a great school. We just want to keep it going and increase the test scores even more,” Chassion said. “We want to celebrate all of its success, but still realize there is work to be done.”

Chassion pointed out that any school with a gifted program will be more prone to higher test scores. Judice said Paul Breaux’s gifted students do tend to have “very high” scores, but noted that he has seen academic progress from students in all programs, not just gifted.

Gutsmeidl said the presence of programs like gifted education and language immersion can translate to all students.

“I would say overall, it raises the bar,” she said. “Across the board, all kids, even if they are not in gifted, sometimes they have friends who are. There’s that little bit of competition. I think maybe it does have a carryover effect.”

As teachers continue to focus on academic progress, Judice said the school also benefits from active parents. The school routinely has events for parents and family members. Many have taken it upon themselves to spruce up the campus. Chassion said several Paul Breaux alumni volunteer as coaches throughout the year.

“It’s an inviting school. They want you to be a part of the community there,” Chassion said. “The culture is that they want you there. You have high school kids wanting to come back and help the younger kids. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”